It’s Worth A Million

The Royal Canadian Mintannounced they will be issuing a very large gold coin with a C$1 million denomination. At 100 kilograms (3215 troy ounces) and 53 centimeters (21 inches) it is the largest legal tender coin in existence. It will be made of .99999 pure gold making this coin the purest gold coin on the market. The obverse of the coin will feature Queen Elizabeth II with the reverse will feature a “new, elegant maple leaf design.”

As part of this project, RCM announced they will be producing a more affordable one troy ounce coin that will be 30 mm and made from .99999 pure gold. This coin will have a face value of C$200. RCM has not released the final pricing for these coins.

It is an ambitious project for RCM. Gold this pure can be difficult to strike because of the softness of the metals. Pricing will be an interesting issue. At today’s 4:00 PM New York gold price of $686.90, the 3215 troy ounce coin contains $2,228,990.50 in the value of the metal. I am guessing that RCM may charge $3 million for this coin.

RCM could price the new one troy ounce coin more competitively with the market. Their nearest competitor will be the US Mint’s American Gold Buffalo, which is one avoirdupois (regular) ounce of .9999 pure gold making the RCM coin lighter than the Gold Buffalo (1 troy ounce = 1.0971 ounces). RCM may price their coin competitively with the Gold Buffalo—which the US Mint announced will it will charge $850 for a 2007 proof coin. Bullion sales appear to average $75-100 over the spot price of gold.

It is an interesting publicity gimmick for the RCM. I would be surprised if they sold more than a dozen of the C$1 million coins.

Canadian coin image from the Royal Canadian MintAmerican Gold Buffalo image from the US Mint